This invention relates to a method a for preparing extruded fastener components. In another aspect, this invention relates to a method for preparing extruded fastener components that can be further treated to improve the memory or permanent set of the fastener components. In still another aspect, this invention relates to a method for preparing extruded fastener components that exhibit good weathering and fire-retardant properties. In yet another aspect, this invention relates to a method for adhering and joining the aforementioned fasteners and other structural members together.
Recently, there has been a considerable amount of activity in the development of new building systems. For example, a prefabricated panel system has been recently developed to take the place of conventional built-up roofing systems and conventional wall systems. In the newly-developed prefabricated panel construction system, a fluid-tight membrane forms one surface of the individual panels. In order to achieve the desired fluid-tight seal across the entire surface of the installed system, fluid-tight fastener means are attached to the edges of the individual panels and such fluid-tight fastener means mate with the adjacent fluid-tight fastener means on the contiguous panels in the system. Such a construction system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,909,998 and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 336,364, filed Feb. 27, 1973, as well as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 445,498, filed Feb. 25, 1974, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,682 on Feb. 3, 1976, and the continuation-in-part application thereof, Ser. No. 645,601 filed Dec. 31, 1975, all of which are assigned to the same assignee of the present invention and all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in this application.
In the newly developed prefabricated panelized construction system, the fastener means must be fabricated from materials that are readily available. Additionally, the materials of construction of the fastener systems must be such that the fasteners can be formed in high-speed commercial operations. Certainly, it is important that the fastener means have good weathering characteristics in all types of environment to allow them to be used in outdoor service. Since the fastener means are used as an integral part of a construction system, it is imperative that they have a high flame resistance in order to satisfy various building and insurance codes and requirements. Additionally, the materials of construction for the various fastener means should be elastic or flexible enough to allow them to be distorted for installation and yet possess enough resilience for the fastener means to return to their original preset shape to form the desired fluid-tight seal between the construction panels.
Many different types of materials have been suggested for the fabricating fasteners with the above characteristics and properties. However, it has been found that most materials, while exhibiting good properties in one particular area, are deficient in other areas.
In addition to the need for improved compositions and methods for fabricating the above mentioned fastener components, there is also a need for improved compositions and methods for affixing or adhering the fasteners to prefabricated panels used in the construction system as well as compositions and methods for adhering and joining other components of the construction system together.